- Joined
- Jan 17, 2011
Beastmasters are currently in a semi-limbo position. They have been given a random assortment of skills to be playable, but have very little focus overall. Kanizo has said he wants them to be more of a pack leader than the pack herders they are now. Here are my thoughts.
#1. Fix the wolf counter. The easiest way to balance the wolves is to ensure everyone has the same amount. Sometimes we are not able to summon any. Sometimes we are able to summon extra. I myself have about 30 wolves I can take with me whenever I want. I am against having the wolf cap increase as levels increase. Keep the count at 4 or 5. No other class that I can see has their defining mechanic limited by their level, only the skills they can use.
#2. Summoning. Wolves are hard to travel with. They get in the way, they get stuck, they drown, they vanish. /skill wolf should summon an entire pack to the caster, however the mana cost should be upped to 99 and given a cooldown of 10 minutes to prevent abuse.
#3. Lickwounds still gives wolfs extra health, making them able to tank getting lava'd. The cap needs to be solidified.
Now, Beastmasters have root and gills. Gills is a super-conditional skill, but ads to the "like a beast" flavor. Root is nice, because of its short duration, and wolves are dumber as doornails and can't chase a moving target. However, I think root should be removed because the wolves shouldn't be able to catch someone who is moving, and add as a distraction instead.
Pack Leader:
The coders are working in party buffs (Might), so I imagine more of that line are coming. Skills like this should be able to apply to summoned allies as well. (I imagine. I know zip about writing code). So, to replace root, a skill with a similar mana cost but longer duration should be implimented that affects the wolves, not the target. Either teleport the pack to the target (within a limited range) or give the wolves a temporary speed boost. Code-wise, I feel the teleportation would be easier (case in point, see: One). So now, BMs can heal their pack, and better control their positioning. Another nice buff skill, maybe called Rend, would make the wolves cause Bleeding with their attacks. I say this instead of the suggestion of another thread to add some kind of bleeding attack skill for the BMs, explained below..
Making a choice?:
Someone in another thread suggested combat skills be given to the BM, some kind of Claw of Bite attack. I, believe it or not, am against this. Every class needs some kind of disadvantage, whether it be mana for skills or range of attacks. A BM caught off guard that doesn't use its wolves is not playing the class. They should be best when fighting as a pack, not bleeding and causing extra damage with their axe. A BM without wolves is just a rogue with Gills, and should be that way.
So to summarize, I feel BMs are playable but lack focus, and more skills should affect the wolves themselves, not the target. (And keep plugging away at that AI update
)
P.S. Thanks for reading, and I appreciate all the work the coding team and administrapers have done for Heroes. Just putting in my 2 coins!
#1. Fix the wolf counter. The easiest way to balance the wolves is to ensure everyone has the same amount. Sometimes we are not able to summon any. Sometimes we are able to summon extra. I myself have about 30 wolves I can take with me whenever I want. I am against having the wolf cap increase as levels increase. Keep the count at 4 or 5. No other class that I can see has their defining mechanic limited by their level, only the skills they can use.
#2. Summoning. Wolves are hard to travel with. They get in the way, they get stuck, they drown, they vanish. /skill wolf should summon an entire pack to the caster, however the mana cost should be upped to 99 and given a cooldown of 10 minutes to prevent abuse.
#3. Lickwounds still gives wolfs extra health, making them able to tank getting lava'd. The cap needs to be solidified.
Now, Beastmasters have root and gills. Gills is a super-conditional skill, but ads to the "like a beast" flavor. Root is nice, because of its short duration, and wolves are dumber as doornails and can't chase a moving target. However, I think root should be removed because the wolves shouldn't be able to catch someone who is moving, and add as a distraction instead.
Pack Leader:
The coders are working in party buffs (Might), so I imagine more of that line are coming. Skills like this should be able to apply to summoned allies as well. (I imagine. I know zip about writing code). So, to replace root, a skill with a similar mana cost but longer duration should be implimented that affects the wolves, not the target. Either teleport the pack to the target (within a limited range) or give the wolves a temporary speed boost. Code-wise, I feel the teleportation would be easier (case in point, see: One). So now, BMs can heal their pack, and better control their positioning. Another nice buff skill, maybe called Rend, would make the wolves cause Bleeding with their attacks. I say this instead of the suggestion of another thread to add some kind of bleeding attack skill for the BMs, explained below..
Making a choice?:
Someone in another thread suggested combat skills be given to the BM, some kind of Claw of Bite attack. I, believe it or not, am against this. Every class needs some kind of disadvantage, whether it be mana for skills or range of attacks. A BM caught off guard that doesn't use its wolves is not playing the class. They should be best when fighting as a pack, not bleeding and causing extra damage with their axe. A BM without wolves is just a rogue with Gills, and should be that way.
So to summarize, I feel BMs are playable but lack focus, and more skills should affect the wolves themselves, not the target. (And keep plugging away at that AI update
)P.S. Thanks for reading, and I appreciate all the work the coding team and administrapers have done for Heroes. Just putting in my 2 coins!
